SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Position Reduced by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,269,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 22,681 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.56% of SLM worth $24,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in SLM by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of SLM by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 138,686 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of SLM by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 9,033 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in SLM by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 48,610 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Down 1.2 %

SLM opened at $21.63 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $22.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 45.65% and a net margin of 25.15%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.32.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corporation, through its subsidiaries, originates and services private education loans to students and their families to finance the cost of their education in the United States. It is also involved in the provision of retail deposit accounts, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and high-yield savings accounts; and interest-bearing omnibus accounts.